In Another Life
by Keira-House M.D
Summary: In another universe Halloween 1981 went differently. James/Lily


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.**

 **Summary: In another universe Halloween 1981 went differently. James/Lily – Frank/Alice – Kingsley/Emmeline – Remus/Hestia**

 **Characters: James Potter, Lily Potter nee Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, Nymphadora Tonks**

 **This was meant to be around 5,000 words but it just kept growing. I thought about making it a multi-chapter or cutting parts but in the end I decided to leave it as it was. Apologies for the battle scene near the end – fight scenes are definitely not my forte.**

* * *

 _31st October 1981 – Godric's Hollow_

Lord Voldemort looked into the window of the Potter's home to see James Potter playing with his son, making coloured bubbles appear to the toddler's obvious delight.

The scene stirred no emotion within him. Over the decades the numerous dark magical rituals he had done, the deaths and pain he had caused, and the detachment he had always felt had eroded most of his emotions.

He felt triumph and pleasure at victories and hatred (so much hatred), but little else. He certainly felt no guilt about what he planned to do, no feelings of sympathy arose for the family he was about to rip apart.

He watched as the mudblood entered the room and picked the boy up, presumably for bed. He had promised Severus that he would spare her, but only if she stayed out of his way. A meagre little token that cost him little effort, but he knew the benefits he would reap in regards to Severus' loyalty would be immense.

He had met Lily Potter on the battlefield three times, though, and each time she had proven a worthy (if still far beneath him) opponent. He had a feeling that she would not stay quietly out of the way while he completed his mission to end the threat Harry Potter posed – of course, he hadn't mentioned such a thing to Severus. It was best to let him think he had done all he could to preserve Lily Potter's life.

It would have been a coup to have gotten the Potters on his side, despite her unfortunate blood. But no matter, he had followers enough and if they were against him then neutralising them was the only way forward.

He saw James Potter throw down his wand as his wife left the room with their son – a foolish mistake even if Potter would certainly not have been a match for him even if he was armed. The Fidelius Charm had made them complacent.

Lord Voldemort turned away from the window and headed towards the door, content in the knowledge that there would be no real obstacles in his way.

He missed James, whose mind had gone suddenly to the motto of 'constant vigilance' that Moody had driven into the heads of Sirius, Frank, Alice, Kingsley and himself at the Auror Academy, grab his wand once more and imagine the lecture he would have been subjected to if Moody had seen him without his wand close to hand.

Constant vigilance. It saved lives.

...

James heard the front door blast open a few minutes after Lily had taken Harry up to his room for bed.

His first thought was to defend the stairs. Lily had surely heard the commotion, but just in case he shouted up to her as he ran into the hallway, "Lily, it's him. He's here. Take Harry and go!"

He pulled out his wand and saw a briefly surprised look on Voldemort's face before they both started throwing spells. James had but a moment to curse Peter's betrayal before his attention was entirely taken up by the duel with Voldemort.

James knew that they weren't evenly matched. He knew that the chances that he would be able to hit Voldemort with either the Killing Curse or something strong enough to debilitate him were slim.

All he hoped was that he could hold the dark wizard off long enough for Lily and Harry to escape and for help to arrive (and he would drop the second hope if the first could happen – if he had to give up his life to ensure that his wife and son were safe then he would and there was no question about it).

He just had to stay focused and hope to Merlin that he got lucky.

He and Lily had fought Voldemort before, just like Frank and Alice had, and they'd managed to keep him at bay long enough for reinforcements from the Order and Aurors to get there (although then he'd had Lily fighting by his side).

It could be done, though. When Voldemort went after Marlene McKinnon and her family the fight had gone on all over McKinnon Manor and Marlene, the last one of her family standing, had helped bring down all the Death Eaters Voldemort had brought with him and survived for hours before she had been struck down by Voldemort.

Of course, Marlene had been thirty-five, with years of experience as an Auror and some of the best duelling skins of her generation.

James was smart, powerful and more than capable in a fight but he hadn't reached his magical potential yet, and he lacked the decades of magical training and the immense magical reserves time (and dark rituals) had given Voldemort.

He had all the motivation in the world. He only hoped that he could hold out.

...

Ten minutes later and the downstairs floor of the Potter's home was in shambles.

More than once James had worried that the whole building would just collapse, but magic had a hand in Godric's Hollow and the structure remained sound.

He just prayed that Lily and Harry had got away. Voldemort had put up an anti-apparition barrier before he'd entered the house – James could feel it, the restricting magic surrounding the building – and with his duel with Voldemort blocking the stairs the only way out for Lily and Harry was through the window.

Lily wouldn't be able to apparate with Harry once she got out of the bounds of the barrier – doing so with a child under three was extremely dangerous – but if she could find some shelter and send off her Patronus then help would come.

James way flagging though, he could feel it. Voldemort had kept the upper hand for almost all of their fight so far and James didn't think that was likely to change.

But he'd given his family time to escape. Lily was far cleverer than he was and he knew she would have found a way out with their son.

He didn't want to die. He wanted decades, even a century or so, with Lily, Harry, Sirius, Remus and everyone else he loved. But if he died at Voldemort's hands then at least he knew it would be so that Lily and Harry could live, just as he knew Lily would make it her mission (even more than it already was) to see Voldemort and all the evil he stood for destroyed.

His shields lost their strength as Voldemort's spells increased in ferocity. He could feel his magical reserves depleting while the dark wizard's remained strong.

He pushed back, throwing as many spells as he could, fighting as hard as possible to stay alive.

A minute later Voldemort managed to hit James with a disarming spell as he was dodging an Avada Kedavra. His wand flew off into a pile of debris and James knew he wouldn't be able to reach it before Voldemort could get another spell off.

He stood straight up, determined to look his soon to be murderer in the face.

But the smug, victorious look on the dark wizard's face angered him. He wasn't quite as reckless as Sirius, especially since becoming a father, but he could be quick tempered and before he realised what he was doing he was flying towards Voldemort in a rage.

He never made contact, though.

When he was only a few feet away he heard a bang and suddenly Voldemort fell back, a hole in his head and no life in his eyes.

And when James turned around, it was to see Lily - beautiful, strong, fiery Lily – with a fierce look in her eyes and a gun in her hand.

Then a number of pops signalled the arrival of the Order and all hell broke loose.

...

Almost a dozen Order members came swarming in through what had been the front door – Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Kingsley, Emmeline and Hestia at the front while the rest lingered outside.

Lily, after a few moments, put the gun down carefully and hurried down the stairs, throwing herself into her husband's arms and kissing him so thoroughly that James was sure their moment would be ruined by an innuendo from Sirius.

However, when they broke apart James saw only his best friend's grin, "I think you rather deserve that mate," was all he said before pulling James into a hug himself and tugging Remus in to join.

When Sirius finally released him, James turned to Lily with panic in his eyes, "Harry …"

She put a hand on his arm to soothe him, "I left him with Bathilda. I know she's getting on and not as sharp as she was but she does adore him and she's always so good with him. We'll go and get him in a -"

She stopped talking as they heard an eerie scream, turning to see a shadow exiting Voldemort's still body.

The shape of a face – Voldemort's face – made up the shadow, a malevolent expression glaring at them all before the smoke-like shadow seemed to flee from their presence.

James looked at Lily's panicked face, Sirius' scared one and Dumbledore's expression, a mix of disappointment and worry.

It wasn't truly over. He knew that now.

* * *

 _1st November 1981 – Potter Manor_

Lily, James, Sirius and Remus sat silently in the sitting room of Potter Manor.

They had fetched Harry, packed a few bags and decamped to James' ancestral home, trusting that the impressive ancient wards there would keep them safe until they could perform the Fidelius Charm once more (Voldemort was dead, but probably not gone, and his Death Eaters were still out there).

Harry was asleep in his cot in the corner of the room. Neither one of his parents wanted to be far away from him after the events of the night before and seeing him there, safe and happy and sleeping, calmed all of their nerves.

Dumbledore had taken control of Voldemort's body and had, with the assistance of some of the Order, gone to deliver it to the Ministry to explain the events of Halloween and to have an arrest warrant issued for Peter Pettigrew.

They'd thought perhaps their friend had been coerced into sharing the secret with Voldemort, but his hideout (well hidden and secured) had all of its defences in place and no sign of a struggle. There had been evidence of a mole within the Order for a while but no one had ever suspected Peter.

It grieved them all, but they tried not to think about it. There was so much to do soon. They needed a break first, though, needed to remind themselves that, no matter how close some of them had come to death, they were still alive, still fighting.

Lily and James were on one of the sofas together, with plenty of room, but they were sat practically on top of each other. They kept touching, reminding themselves that they were together.

James had always been the leader of the Marauders, even if the others (minus Peter) were capable of holding their own and making their opinion known. Lily was the boss of them all, though hers was generally a benevolent dictatorship (unless they were doing stupid things like letting Harry ride in the sidecar of Sirius' bike). With both the Potters in shock over Voldemort's attack on their home, the role of responsible ones had fallen on Sirius and Remus.

Remus was fine with that. Sirius was finding it a new experience.

He was good at it, though. Sirius was a joker, the devil-may-care type, the bad-boy.

Still, he knew the dark side of life, having experienced it at home since he was a child. He'd lost his brother to Voldemort, seen good friends die. He knew how to calm things down, to be grave and solemn when the situation called for it.

Unfortunately, he was still fairly useless with baby issues like nappies, more used to being the indulgent godfather who turned into his Animagus form and let Harry gallop around on his back.

They managed, though, and by the time they got to Potter Manor James and Lily were more like themselves, although Lily still looked down at her hands and trembled every now and then, as if she couldn't quite believe she had shot Voldemort.

Sirius was never more thankful for her paranoia, muggle upbringing and unusual aptitude for shooting.

He also had to enjoy the irony of Lord Voldemort's demise at the hands of a muggleborn wielding a muggle weapon.

...

They all stayed quiet, just taking a little while for the calm before the storm.

Outside the wizarding world was probably waking up to the news of Voldemort's demise. They were probably celebrating and thinking everything would be ok.

Unfortunately, there were still Death Eaters out there, dangerous witches and wizards like Bellatrix, the Lestranges, Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov. It would be easier to catch them now their leader was gone, but they would be desperate and desperation was always dangerous in such unbalanced and powerful enemies.

Then there was the smoke that had left Voldemort's body to consider. They'd all seen a lot of strange things in the wizarding world, but never something like that.

Lily and Sirius had a theory. She'd read more books than even Remus and he'd learnt a lot (mostly unwillingly) about dark rituals from his family. James and Remus knew too, in the backs of their minds, but they hadn't quite realised yet.

Sirius twitched in his seat. He ached to be doing something, never one for sitting peacefully, even if only for a short while.

He looked to Lily for permission. She was in charge, they all knew that (even if she didn't usually take advantage of that).

She sighed, looked over at her sleeping son and sighed once more. She just wanted some quiet and rest, but there was little room for such things in war and while they had won a big battle she knew they were still at war. Besides, Dumbledore would almost certainly turn up soon enough and they might as well all be on the same page when he did.

She nodded once and burrowed further into James' arms, revelling in it and trying not to think how close she had come to losing her brave husband.

Sirius sat up from his slouching position, garnering the attention of his two best friends, and looked grim, "so … what do you all know about Horcruxes?"

* * *

 _17th November 1981 – Potter Manor_

It had been a week since Halloween and Potter Manor was a hive of activity.

Dumbledore had taken on the Ministry responsibilities regarding Voldemort's demise, partly due to his decades of experience but also to save James and Lily from the media circus that the appearance of the couple who defeated Voldemort would cause. In addition, he was helping coordinate the manhunt for Peter Pettigrew and other Death Eaters, as well as running Hogwarts (although Professor McGonagall was helping with that).

He had visited them only once, in the afternoon after Voldemort's death, to discuss the strong likelihood that the dark wizard had made a number of Horcruxes. Horrifying as the idea was to any decent witch or wizard, they knew that it was entirely possible – and probable – that Voldemort had made at least three and maybe more. With Dumbledore's time being entirely taken up by other important matters at the Ministry and Hogwarts, it had fallen upon those at Potter Manor to research Horcruxes and try to discover what objects Voldemort may have used and where he might have hidden them.

It was, thanks mostly to Lily and Remus, organised chaos at Potter Manor. Lily, James, Harry, Sirius and Remus had been joined by Frank, Alice and Neville two weeks previously. Longbottom Manor had an impressive level of protection but the Potter home was a few steps above it and no one wanted to take chances considering the level of hatred that would be directed towards the Order by the Death Eaters over Voldemort's death. James and Lily had invited Augusta Longbottom to stay too, but she refused to leave her home and old as she was they all knew that she was an exceptionally capable witch well able to hold her own.

They planned to perform the Fidelius Charm once more once the extensive preparations needed were completed in a few weeks. The secret would be given to Lily this time, as she planned to stay inside the manor most of the time for the foreseeable future. It irked them all that they hadn't considered giving the secret to James or Lily the first time around, but they'd been in such a hurry and the intricacies of magic, being at times a peculiar and tricky thing, meant they weren't sure whether it would weaken the spell to have the secret keeper be someone who lived constantly within the bounds of the magic. Further investigation had shown that it could be done and they weren't going to take any more chances, planning to perform the spell as soon as it was possible to do so.

Meanwhile, they were researching Horcruxes with excessive energy.

There were the six of them most of the time, as well as Harry and Neville. Remus and Sirius left every now and then to help the Order, but the others were on lockdown at the manor until it was a little safer. They felt the restrictions, as they had before Voldemort's death, but Halloween had made them all even more cautious and they didn't rail against being stuck in one place.

Kingsley, Emmeline and Hestia stopped by sometimes to help or visit. It always lifted the mood and, more often than not, research was abandoned in favour of some fun. It lessened the stress for those unable to leave the manor and kept them in contact with what was going on in the outside world. Professor McGonagall had stopped by once, with some books and papers from Dumbledore, and while she had kept her usual stern appearance for most of the visit, there had been a few tears at the end of her visit when she had hugged the Potters – the group had always been some of her favourite students.

Lily, Remus and Frank were the best at ploughing through large amounts of information. Sirius was their resident expert on dark magic and rituals, thanks to his upbringing. James and Alice were good at finding small amounts of relevant information from within large documents. They all had their niches and they were all good at finding connections and coming up with theories.

They rotated. Some of them worked while the others took breaks or looked after Harry and Neville. The latter was preferable, of course, but they all knew the importance of their research.

It made them happy to have Harry and Neville together. Alice and Lily, best friends since their first year, had always wanted to raise their children together but hadn't really had the chance because of the prophecy and having to go into hiding. Living in the same house meant Harry and Neville were becoming fast friends, even if their young age meant they couldn't do much but babble cheerfully to each other and share their toys.

James hadn't taken to confinement well when they were at Godric's Hollow. The other Marauders visited occasionally, but mostly it was just him, Lily and Harry. He adored his family, loved them beyond anything else, but being stuck in one place together did make arguments more frequent. The house was also smaller than he was used to – it was one of the Potter family's secondary properties, not nearly the size of the manor or of the cottage the family had in Ireland. James was used to the manor and Hogwarts and while the house at Godric's Hollow was a good size for three people, it wasn't conducive to housing a man who was used to wide open spaces for Quidditch or duelling practice or a wander when he was in his Animagus form.

Now that they were at the manor - with a small wood, large grounds and Quidditch pitch out back – and with more company James was a lot more relaxed. Which in turn made Lily calmer and that meant everything ran much more smoothly.

Their work was going well. They had a ton of notes, organised by Remus and Frank and colour coded by Lily. They had taken over an empty room next to the library (for ease of referencing and transfer of books) and there were notes, pictures and theories stuck up on one of the walls with arrows showing the links. It was organised chaos really.

Sirius had the un-enviable task of making sure they all had an understanding of how Horcruxes were made and what their effects might be on those who were in close proximity and on the one who created them. Lily and Frank had both thrown up after they heard what had to be done, while the rest all looked exceptionally queasy. They'd not done any more work that day. James, Lily, Alice and Frank had gone to hug their sons and chase away the horrid images with the faces of their adored family. Remus and Sirius had gone outside to duel away their anger and disgust. They'd all had nightmares that night.

James and Lily researched what objects Voldemort might have used as Horcruxes, while Remus, Frank and Alice discussed where (or with whom) he might have hidden them. They shared ideas and helped each other of course, but it helped them to have one area to focus on.

Dumbledore sent notes every few days via his phoenix Fawkes with some of his own theories or reading recommendations for them. The papers showed he had been very busy, mobilising the government to hunt down the Death Eaters on the loose and making sure the public knew how to protect themselves from the fugitives. They were all glad that the Minister seemed to be letting Dumbledore help, bowing to his years of experience and working with him rather than arguing and causing in-fighting amongst a group that needed to be working together. They couldn't imagine the lives that might have ended up lost if the Ministry hadn't listened to Dumbledore.

They saw that Kingsley had been promoted within the Aurors, unusual given he was only twenty-three but more understandable considering his talents and all the work he had been doing to fight Voldemort. Their other friends too, were doing well. Emmeline was enjoying the Department of Mysteries (she couldn't tell them what she was doing, only that it would hopefully help in tracking down Death Eaters) and Hestia was rising fast as a Healer at St Mungo's, a favourite with the patients because of her skills and friendly personality.

They were still fighting the darkness in their world, still searching for a way to ensure Voldemort remained truly dead and trying to make sure his Death Eaters were brought to justice, but their lives did go on and they enjoyed the little things even as they strove to ensure the safety of the wizarding world.

* * *

 _31st July 1982 – Potter Manor_

"Happy Birthday Harry and Neville!"

Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, two years old now, only giggled at the group surrounding him. They didn't have any real concept of birthdays but they were pleased to have so many people around to hug and play with.

Both boys enjoyed the wrapping paper more than a lot of their presents but they were certainly enamoured with the joint present from their parents.

There were shops in all the shopping districts in the wizarding world that sold magical toys. One of the most popular was a model of Hogwarts, similar to the toy houses and castles muggle children had but with magically moving parts. James, Lily, Frank and Alice had considered one for Harry and Neville, but the models weren't too accurate and the spells didn't last long. The idea stuck, though, and their project for the last few months, in between Horcrux research and family life, had been to create their own version for Harry and Neville to have as a joint birthday present. They had been putting the finishing touches to it just a few hours previously, just in time for the birthday party the boys were sharing since their birthdays were only a day apart.

The model castle, thanks to Lily's perfectionism and Frank's memory for details, was as realistic as a hugely scaled down version could be and complete with its own miniature Forbidden Forest, Black Lake, Quidditch Pitch and Whomping Willow (and that last one had caused a number of welts on their hands until they'd gotten the balance between realistic and safe for toddlers worked out).

When closed up you could see flickering candles (magical of course, no fire hazards around their children) lighting up the rooms and hear the noises of children chattering, teachers scolding and ghosts giving out advice or, in Peeves' case, pranking students.

When opened you could see dozens of rooms, all with exceptionally detailed furniture. A number of classrooms, dorms and common rooms, the Great Hall, the Entrance Hall, the kitchens and some of the more unusual spare rooms, including the room the elves called the Come and Go Room, where they had always found whatever they needed, and the Trophy Room. There was a magical staircase changing routes just like the real thing and plenty of small props for the toy people to use.

There were dolls of the professors and of Lily, James, Frank, Alice and their friends when they'd been students (with the added bonus of the Marauders' dolls being able to change into their Animagus or werewolf form). There were also two smaller dolls to represent Harry and Neville.

It was all toddler-proof at the moment and an adult would always have to be with the boys when they played with it, but more bits could be added over time as they grew.

Hogwarts had been a magical place to them all, a home away from home that they all had fantastic memories of. Their sons would go there too but before they did their parents wanted to share with them the joy they had experienced there.

The castle was a hit with the boys. They didn't understand the concept of school yet but they had seen pictures of Hogwarts often (in photos and in some of the wizarding children's books) and the whole thing looked a lot of fun for them.

The adults got in on the fun too, enjoying the reminder of their beloved school, although Sirius had to be dragged away soon enough before he got into mischief.

The two birthday boys were spoilt rotten. Their first birthdays had been during a very tense time for everyone and while there had been some beautiful presents, such as Harry's soft-toy versions of Prongs, Padfoot and Moony (the Wormtail had been blasted to bits by James the day after Halloween), there hadn't been much of a celebratory feeling.

This year was different. They were all there together. The boys and their parents, Sirius and Remus. Professors Dumbledore, Flitwick and McGonagall had dropped by and were admiring the castle and complimenting them on the spell designs. Hestia was there, teasing the blushing pair of Kingsley and Emmeline, whose entwined hands and occasional quick kisses signified the change in their relationship. Sirius' cousin Andromeda was there too, telling a laughing Lily and Alice some amusing stories about young Sirius while her husband Ted spoke to Remus and their daughter Nymphadora – who had insisted everyone call her Dora – played with Harry and Neville. Even Moody stopped by briefly and while he insisted it was just to check on their security measures (as if they needed that, with the Fidelius Charm, the manor's impressive original defences and the additions the Order had added) they knew it was a ruse having seen him almost smile and have a slice of cake, once he'd checked it for poisons and potions of course.

Together, the assembled group made up the total who had been given the secret of Potter Manor's location by Lily. There were other Order members of course, and allies in the Ministry and other parts of the magical world they were friendly with, but giving the secret to too many people diluted the spell and weakened the protection.

Even after nine months the Longbottoms still hadn't returned to their home.

A number of high-profile Death Eaters had been captured, including Rabastan Lestrange, but Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Dolohov were still on the loose, while the Ministry hadn't managed to make a conviction against Lucius Malfoy stick. The danger was still out there and it was just safer for them all to be together in case trouble arrived.

Besides, Harry and Neville were the best of friends and their parents were happy for everyone to continue to live under one roof. The boys couldn't go out, not with Death Eaters on the loose and no idea if Voldemort could be resurrected any time soon. It was good for them to have someone else their own age around and the last thing their parents wanted was for them to grow up isolated.

Visits from the Tonks family helped, as Dora was happy to play games with them, and Lily and Alice thought that maybe in a few years they might be able to sort out some meetings with Molly Weasley and her brood or Amelia Bones and her niece Susan, perhaps at Longbottom Manor, which was well-protected but without the Fidelius Charm.

For now, though, they had their own little family at Potter Manor and, despite the darkness that still pervaded their lives, despite having to spend parts of almost every day digging around research about one of the darkest magical rituals that could be done, they loved their lives at the manor.

* * *

 _25th March 1983 – Potter Manor_

Albus Dumbledore swept into the library of Potter Manor with an urgency that showed the importance of the information he had come to hear.

They had finally had a real breakthrough. After almost a year and a half of theories and dead ends they finally had a real lead on the Horcruxes. In fact, they had two.

...

The first came from Sirius' return to his childhood home. His father had died five months previously and his mother just two weeks ago. While Sirius had been thrown out he hadn't been formally disowned and so he had now become the head of the Black family. It didn't mean much for him, though he had taken pleasure in reinstating Andromeda (whose had been formally disowned when she married Ted). She didn't care for their family either but there were some useful benefits to it.

Sirius hadn't been in a good frame of mind when he had returned to Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore had gone to a cave once visited by Lord Voldemort (when he had been Tom Riddle) looking for clues and had found a fake Horcrux and a note they realised was from Regulus Black.

Sirius, on realising that his younger brother had died trying to stop Voldemort, had gone outside and destroyed a couple of trees in his anger. When that proved unable to sate his temper he had then insisted on being sent out with the Aurors on their next attempt to bring in some Death Eaters.

He had been reckless, more so than usual. There had been one very close shave when Bellatrix had almost killed him. As it was, Sirius had a nasty scar and had endured a severe scolding from Lily, but Rodolphus Lestrange was dead and Antonin Dolohov in Azkaban.

Sirius had returned to the manor, locked himself in his room and refused to leave for three days.

He had emerged after that, a little haunted but more himself, and had headed to London to visit Grimmauld Place, fake locket in his pocket.

No one knew what had gone on between Kreacher and Sirius, but whatever it was it had Kreacher presenting the real locket to Sirius. There was too much bad blood between the two for there to be anything other than mild politeness but Regulus, beloved to both of them, had been redeemed in the public eye and honoured for his sacrifice and that meant a lot to both of them.

The locket was now in a secure place in the manor under half a dozen spells. No one wanted it in the same building as Harry and Neville, but there was no other choice. Now Dumbledore was coming to collect it to be stored elsewhere until they could work out how to destroy it.

Their second lead was Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

A conversation with the Grey Lady had enlightened Dumbledore to the fact that she had revealed to Tom Riddle the location of her mother's lost diadem. It made sense to them that he would have used such an item, with strong links to the school that had been his refuge, as a Horcrux. The only problem was working out its location.

They'd thrown around a number of ideas, but finally settled on the idea that Voldemort may have hidden the diadem in Hogwarts itself, an ideal place since no one would ever think to look for a dark object at the school run by Albus Dumbledore.

There was opportunity. Voldemort had gone to Hogwarts to apply for a job decades previously and, knowing the castle as well as he had, it would have been fairly simple for him to make a detour and leave the diadem somewhere.

But Hogwarts was so huge and not even Dumbledore knew all the rooms that existed there. Some only appeared occasionally, others swapped places and some were locked up so tight that not even Dumbledore had gotten into them yet.

In the end it was Harry and Neville who set them on the right track. They had been playing with their Hogwarts model, getting excited by the Come and Go Room which disappeared, thanks to a cleverly applied Invisibility Spell, unless one of the dolls was close to it (in an attempt to mimic some of the magic of the real room).

It sparked a thought in James, who got so excited that he could only gesture and made indecipherable noises. Sirius and Remus translated for him and it was soon decided that the Come and Go Room would be the perfect hiding place. Most of the time someone entered it they wouldn't even find the place it was hidden, just something else they were looking for (broom cupboard to hide in, bathroom, quiet reading room or something else entirely). In addition, it was exceptionally hard, and perhaps impossible, for it to be plotted on a map, magical or otherwise.

Lily had sent off a message to Dumbledore immediately. He was due to collect the locket the next day and they wanted him to have some foreknowledge of their idea about the diadem beforehand.

...

So Dumbledore arrived to a cheerful household, pleased to have plenty of progress to share after lots of disappointments. It felt like they were finally making real progress in their work.

Remus was the only one in the library when Dumbledore entered. He turned around after putting the last of a pile of books back on the shelf and grinned tiredly but warmly at his old headmaster.

"They're all outside at the moment, enjoying the good weather. I'm just about done with this so I'll come with you to find them."

Despite his cheerful demeanour, Remus still looked worn and Dumbledore remembered the lunar calendar, "the full moon soon isn't it Remus, you look peaky."

His companion nodded, "three days. I'm alright professor and I have my Wolfsbane Potion ready."  
Dumbledore nodded and then smiled as he and Remus reached the door and stepped out onto the patio.

There was music playing and Remus knew almost immediately which band it was – Lily was a huge Beatles fan and she had passed her love of it onto all the rest of them.

She and James, as well as Frank and Alice, were dancing on the grass, talking and laughing and looking carefree. Sirius was in his Animagus form and Harry and Neville were taking it in turns to have rides on his back, babbling excitedly about 'Padfoot'.

"You go and join your friends Mr Lupin," Dumbledore told him with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, "there will be time enough to talk later and you should all have a little fun and rest."

"You're welcome to join us professor."

"That is quite alright Mr Lupin, I saw a fascinating knitting magazine in the library that will keep me occupied for a while. Come in and find me when you're ready."

And he headed back inside the manor, looking back once at the lively scene with a pleased smile on his face, glad that the group could still enjoy themselves despite the problems their world faced.

* * *

 _18th October 1985 – Cannes, France_

They were approaching four years since Voldemort's death and were all enjoying a well-deserved holiday in France.

It was the first time the Potters or Longbottoms had been out of the country in years, the first time that they felt truly safe enough to leave the safety of their Fidelius-protected manor.

There had been quick trips away from the house before, but nothing out in the open. They'd visited both the Longbottom and Bones manors for visits but only Sirius and Remus got the chance for more freedom.

Now, though, things were safer. Bellatrix Lestrange had finally been captured with a number of lower-ranking Death Eaters, around the same time that they had realised her vault might be holding a Horcrux since she was one of Voldemort's most trusted.

On her arrest her vaults had been turned over to the Ministry, who had allowed Dumbledore, Sirius, McGonagall, Flitwick and Kingsley to go through it in search of anything excessively dark. They had found Helga Hufflepuff's cup and known almost immediately from its suffocating dark aura that it was a Horcrux.

Having worked out a year previously that Fiendfyre was one of the ways to destroy Horcruxes, they knew that they wouldn't need to keep the cup nearly as long as they had kept the locket and diadem. Dumbledore was the only one of them able to wield the cursed fire with enough safety and accuracy to keep the danger to a minimum and he had reported back to them only a few days ago that the cup had been destroyed.

They were three Horcruxes down and sure there couldn't be many left – splitting your soul even once was horrific, but to do so more than around half a dozen times would be unthinkable for most people. They figured that with seven being a magically powerful number, Voldemort may have wanted to split his soul into seven pieces – six Horcruxes and his body – but they were unable to discover if he had managed this before his body had been destroyed on Halloween 1981.

They weren't thinking about that currently, though. They were enjoying their holiday in the sun and relaxing.

Those still staying at Potter Manor – the Potters, Longbottoms, Sirius and Remus – were joined by Kingsley and Emmeline, now engaged, as well as Hestia.

It was a sort of extended goodbye party since the Longbottoms would be moving back into their own manor when they all returned to England in a few weeks. They would be close, of course, and it would be beyond easy for them to visit each other, but it still wasn't the same as living in the same house. It was time, though. It had been close to four years since they had moved into the Potter home and it was safe enough now that they could get back to their own.

James and Lily had discussed lifting the Fidelius on the manor to allow for more visitors, but they weren't quite comfortable with it yet. The events of Halloween 1981 still haunted them and they knew they probably wouldn't lift the charm until they knew that Voldemort was gone for good.

But they weren't having Voldemort talk during their holiday. They were having fun.

Their hotel was amazing, luxurious and perfectly situated. There were restaurants, spas, gyms, numerous pools, games rooms, bars and more. Plenty for them all to do in the hotel alone, not taking into account the shops, amusements and beach that they took full advantage of.

Harry and Neville loved it. The adults had all been abroad at some point, but it was the first time for the boys and at five years old they could enjoy it in a way they wouldn't have when they were younger.

Having learned to swim in the small indoor pool Potter Manor had, they were enjoying the chance to play in a much bigger pool out in the sun, as well as floating in their rubber rings (well supervised) in the sea.

The sheer joy they both showed made their parents feel guilty. The boys had been very sheltered so far. Their home was the place they spent almost all their time, with only a few carefully supervised short trips. Their awe at the outside world, at the vast spaces, the ocean and being surrounded by so many people was bittersweet because it was their parents who had denied them it so far.

It was for their safety of course, and they wouldn't take it back. But it made them yearn more for a time when they wouldn't have to hide their children away.

They longed for that day. It couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

 _3rd June 1987 – Longbottom Manor_

"I now give you Mr and Mrs Shacklebolt."

The declaration was met by raucous applause as Kingsley and Emmeline, both beaming, walked back down the aisle arm in arm. Following after came Frank and Hestia, the best man and maid of honour, along with bridesmaids Lily, Alice and Helena Vance (Emmeline's sister). Harry and Neville, who had shared the role of pageboy, followed last, all their concentration on keeping the velvet cushion they each held straight even though the rings were now safely on the fingers of the bride and groom.

The newly married couple were lost to a haze of hugs and kisses for at least twenty minutes as other guests mingled and made their way to the seats, buffet table or dancefloor set up in the grounds of Longbottom Manor, the chosen venue.

Harry and Neville ran off straight away to the food, supervised by Remus and Sirius, while Lily and James took a seat at one of the tables and Frank and Alice headed to the dancefloor.

"It's a good time for a wedding," Lily said softly, "a sign of good things to come I think."

"We're getting there Lily," James replied, "we're so close now."

He was right. They had, since their holiday in Cannes, retrieved and destroyed two more Horcruxes – a ring taken from the shack of Voldemort's maternal family, the Gaunts, and an old diary from the dark lord's school days, found during the full raid on Malfoy Manor they had finally managed to engineer a few months previously. Five Horcruxes gone, an achievement to be proud of, and most of the Death Eaters dead or locked securely away (though Pettigrew evaded them still, probably using his rat form and choosing to hide rather than attempt to fight the Ministry, Aurors and Order like other Death Eaters had).

"They look good together, don't they?" Lily asked.

James just nodded, assuming his wife was referring to Kingsley and Emmeline, but she nudged him and pointed in another direction.

He couldn't work out what she meant for a minute, until he spotted Remus and Hestia laughing quietly together.

"Really?"

Lily rolled her eyes at him, "you're so blind sometimes James. She's good for him, brings him out of his shell, doesn't care about his curse. He deserves some happiness, they both do."

James shrugged. He liked Hestia and she was a good friend, but matchmaking had always been Lily's thing and he wasn't about to get involved. He'd had enough trouble getting Lily to agree to date him and he didn't fancy dealing with all of that again. Still, he was pleased to see Remus having a good time.

"Don't meddle Lily," he murmured, "not with Remus. I'm not saying I don't support it, but let's just see where it goes okay."

She sighed but nodded, "alright, I promise."

He leant over and kissed her, ignoring the squeal of disgust from his son, who had just joined them at the table."

"Love you Lily."

"Love you too James … always."

...

Kingsley and Emmeline swayed together for their first dance. They were more graceful than either the Potters or Longbottoms had been – James and Lily had been more energetic, with enough spins to make even the spectators dizzy, and neither Frank nor Alice had ever been the most coordinated so their dance was sweet but also peppered with one standing on the other's toes and laughing apologies.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, it suited both couples well enough. Just as graceful and controlled suited Mr and Mrs Shacklebolt. They were both some of the calmest of their friends, the quiet but useful voices in the background offering advice and assistance but rarely on the forefront of their group of friends. They had leadership potential, but they took on that role at work, preferring the less stressful route of the background when it came to their group of friends.

They'd learnt a traditional waltz for their first dance and they'd practiced and practiced until their steps were perfect.

It had been fun. They liked being around their friends, but doing things together as a couple was great too and the dance classes had given them a lot of enjoyment – they'd even joined one once their wedding lessons were over (a muggle one, as the wizarding world was rather lacking) - they were currently in the midst of learning the tango and liking it very much.

They paid no attention to the rest of the guests as they danced. It was brilliant, the way they could just ignore everything else around them when they danced, focused only on each other.

They were so happy that they had found one another. It was hard enough to find 'the one' without having to do it during a war where people were dying all over and the fighting and danger left little time for romance. But they had managed eventually and things were easier now. There was much less research to be done on Horcruxes, far fewer Death Eaters roaming free and plenty more free time.

The music ended, the dance finished and everyone clapped.

But Kingsley and Emmeline only had eyes for each other and the delightful future they could see as they looked at one another.

...

Sirius loved weddings.

And no, it wasn't just because of the abundance of women around.

He enjoyed that, of course, very much so. The food too.

But he also liked the happiness there was. It wasn't something he advertised because he had a reputation to keep up. He loved it, though, to see properly functioning, sane and in-love couples. Growing up in a household like the Black family, he didn't get to see much love or care. So he liked to see it with his friends.

It was his sappy little secret.

So he'd watched Kingsley and Emmeline, James and Lily, Frank and Alice, and even Remus and Hestia (making a mental note to give Hestia the shovel speech because she was his friend but Remus was, like James, a best friend). He'd grinned and toasted them all.

He'd even felt a little twinge of longing.

Not much, however. He wasn't ready to settle down quite yet.

He spotted Emmeline's sister Helena and winked at her. She blushed pink and smiled shyly. He put his glass down and began to make his way over to her.

He did love a good wedding.

* * *

 _5th March 1988 – Potter Manor_

Almost nine months after Kingsley and Emmeline's wedding, Potter Manor was open to visitors who had come to welcome the newest member of their family – Rose Lily Potter, just a week old.

The wedding mood had led to a lapse in birth control for James and Lily and the surprise of a pregnancy. It hadn't exactly been planned, but they had been talking about having another child like they'd always wanted, especially since the threats had reduced for them. Voldemort wasn't gone for good, but they weren't sure they could have waited that long anyway – none of them knew how long it would take to truly rid the world of the dark wizard.

They had worried a little about how Harry, an old child for almost eight years, might take the idea of a younger sibling. They needn't have worried. Having Neville in the same house for years meant the two were like brothers and used to sharing. Harry seemed just as excited as his parents were and while there had been a brief moment of disappointment from him when it was discovered the baby would be a girl he soon grew used to the idea of a sister and looked forward to being a big brother. He'd been very good with Rose so far, showing great care and proudly showing off his new sister to the visitors.

It was hard to tell what colour her hair might eventually be, but the signs pointed to the same red as Lily's, which pleased James to no end, fond as he was of every aspect of his wife.

She was quiet but aware, taking in her surroundings and noticing everyone around her.

Still, while she didn't cry often, when she did it was a sound the reverberated throughout the whole manor and ensured everyone there realised the youngest Potter was unhappy. James said, with a look of sheer delight, that his daughter had Lily's fire. His wife hit him with a mild Stinging Hex for that, but smiled too.

Remus was her godfather and the look on his face when they told him was beautiful.

He'd stuttered about how he shouldn't be trusted with it, not with his curse. James scoffed and said that Remus' furry little problem had no bearing on the situation. Lily glared at him until he stopped protesting and graciously agreed. Hestia was given the role of godmother, since Alice was Harry's and she cooed over the baby in a way that made them all think that, since she and Remus were now dating, there might be baby Lupins in the not-so-distant future (because if anyone could turn Remus around to the idea of children it was Hestia).

Emmeline thought Rose was adorable, but seeing her didn't stir any particularly maternal urges within her. She wanted children at some point, but both she and Kingsley were focused on their careers. She wasn't even thirty yet and Kingsley wasn't much past it – considering how long witches and wizards lived she knew they had plenty of time. For now she wanted to enjoy the pseudo niece and nephews she had in Rose, Harry and Neville.

Andromeda and Ted had come over too, bringing their daughter (now refusing to be known as anything other than 'Tonks'), who was home from her fourth year at Hogwarts for the weekend.

Tonks was full of stories for Harry and Neville about the new secrets she had discovered in the castle and the pranks she and her best friend Charlie Weasley got up to. Sirius was proud to see that while no Marauders had children at Hogwarts yet, his cousin's daughter was doing her best to continue the legacy, her abilities as a Metamorphmagus proving very useful. The adults all grinned when they saw Tonks, arms waving around as she enthusiastically described her latest adventure.

"… so then we had to run for it before Professor McGonagall saw us because she promised that the next time we tried to sneak a Niffler into the Slytherin Common Room she'd give us a month of detention. But we didn't manage to get it in so we were running with a Niffler in my bag and then we ran into Bill and he somehow thought we looked suspicious so then I had to say I was absolutely desperate for the toilet so then he followed us there and I had to hide the Niffler and bag in one of the cubicles and then leave. I snuck back five minutes later looking like Maria Fawcett from the year above and thank Merlin it hadn't managed to get out of the bag but it took us ages to sneak it back out to the grounds."

Tonks, who had said all that in one breath, gasped as she finished her sentence and then went pale when she realised how loudly she had been talking and that her parents had been listening in.

"Not that such a thing actually happened," she said quickly to Harry and Neville, who were listening raptly, "that's a story of course, and totally not how you should behave at Hogwarts. You should … err … make sure you always do your homework and behave in the corridors and never ever try to sneak magical creatures into the Slytherin Common Room."

She gave her parents a sheepish smile and they smiled indulgently, if a little sternly, at her.

"I am so dead when we get home," she muttered quietly. Harry and Neville only laughed.

* * *

 _21st November 1988 – Potter Manor_

"What's got you thinking so hard darling?" asked James, stooping to kiss his wife good morning and sit down next to her at the table.

Lily looked carefully at Harry, but he was on the floor in the corner, having finished his breakfast, playing with the Hogwarts model and watching raptly as a match played out on the miniature Quidditch pitch (Gryffindor winning of course – Lily had charmed it and she knew James would accept no other outcome). He wasn't paying any attention to his parents.

"A note from Dumbledore," she explained, "Sev … Snape has been released from prison."

And just like that James' good mood went away, though he kept his face as blank as possible. Once upon a time, when he was at Hogwarts (and for a while afterwards too) he would have started ranting, but he was older and wiser now, and his children were in the room. He stayed silent instead.

Severus Snape had been sentenced to seven years in prison after Voldemort's death. Not Azkaban, which was reserved for the worst of the worst, but a slightly lower-security facility. He had been a Death Eater, but he hadn't ever been too deep in the more murderous plans Voldemort had created, mostly involved in the Potions aspect instead. But he had committed crimes and Lily, despite the sorrow she felt for her old friend, knew the sentence was justified.

It brought back memories for both Potters, about the prophecy Snape had spilled to Voldemort. He didn't know it was about Lily, but that didn't make it better – he still knew it would destroy lives.

Things had been good recently. There hadn't been any sign of Voldemort's rebirth and while there had been no sign of another Horcrux that made them think perhaps the locket, diadem, cup, ring and diary were all there was.

They hadn't forgotten the threat of Voldemort, but it hadn't weighed them down as much as it had in years past. But Snape's release reminded them of the darkness that they still faced, of the fact that their home was still under the Fidelius Charm and that their children were sheltered beyond what James or Lily wanted in order to make sure they were safe.

"Dumbledore wanted to give us some advance notice," Lily said softly, "it won't be in the papers since he's not Bellatrix or Dolohov or anyone like that, but he didn't want us to be surprised."  
James clenched his fists and had to look at his children for a few moments, his beautiful family, before he could calm down.

Lily put her hand over his, "it'll be fine James. I'm sure we'll never see him. We're all good, we're all together."

James said nothing, but he twisted his hand to hold hers and they set there together. Later, Lily would floo call their friends to come and play or watch Quidditch on their grounds so that they could help James work off some steam. But for the moment, they held hands and it was all ok.

* * *

 _12th August 1989 – Longbottom Manor_

Longbottom Manor was chaos.

Augusta Longbottom had left to spend the whole day out. She wasn't hugely fond of social chit-chat but she had some good friends well used to (or sharing) her brusque, no-nonsense manner. And she wasn't about to stay in the manor. Big though it was, any home was too small when there would be eight children under twelve running around.

The Longbottoms were hosting Harry, Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood and the four youngest Weasley children, who had all come over to play with Neville.

James had begged off staying. As one of the Marauders he well knew the trouble such a group could get into, especially when said group included Fred and George Weasley who, despite their young age, had an impressive reputation as pranksters. He had instead taken Rose off for a little father-daughter outing to the zoo and, with his inability to say no to his daughter's puppy dog eyes, would no doubt return with half a dozen stuffed animals for Rose's room.

Lily enjoyed watching the children all play. She'd never had a particularly close relationship with her only sister, even before magic and Hogwarts, and she loved to see her son having real fun with his friends.

Alice and Frank were pleased too. Neville could be quite shy, even with his best friend Harry. They had no problem with that, but they did like to help him along with making friends and they were pleased to hear his laughter as they sat with Lily and Remus (who had dropped by to talk with Frank).

The loud noises the children made as they played would irritate a lot of parents, no matter how much they loved their children. But to Lily it was a blessing because Harry had been so isolated when he was younger thanks to the threat of Voldemort that she cherished the moments he got to play with large groups.

The adults laughed throughout the afternoon as the children made their way through various games.

When one of Fred and George's tricks left Susan, Luna and Ginny covered in bright red paint they banded together to prank the boys (and that ended with all of them soaking wet but impressed by the inventiveness of the girls).

Ginny, soft-spoken and shy around Harry and Neville, who she'd never met, shocked them all when her anger at one of Ron's teasing remarks led her to rugby tackle her brother to the ground in a move that was especially impressive considering how much taller he was.

Luna won at hide and seek, only revealing herself when the rest of the children gave up half an hour after the second to last person (Harry) had been found. She refused to tell them all where her impressive hiding place was and her wide smile pleased Lily and Alice, who had been watching and who knew how rarely the little girl had showed such happiness since her mother's death.

Harry won every one of their throw and catch games, his hand-eye coordination very impressive. Lily made a mental note to tell James that all of his Quidditch practice with their son had paid off (even if Harry had showed an inclination towards being a seeker rather than a chaser like his father) but thought better of it – she saved such comments for the very rare times when James' ego actually needed a boost.

Ron wandered in to the room Lily, Alice, Frank and Remus were sitting in at one point, having been found in their game of hide and seek, and helped Remus beat Frank at chess in six moves. Considering that Frank was a chess whizz himself this was especially surprising to them all and Frank made Ron sit down to play himself. It took the nine year old winning five games to two against Frank before their friend conceded defeat.

When Lily found Harry at the end of the day for the two of them to head home, her son was exhausted, slightly damp, had paint in his hair and plenty of stories to tell his parents and sister.

Lily was delighted.

* * *

 _13th April 1990 – Potter Manor_

"Look at this," Sirius shouted in disgust as he stormed into the dining room and threw the paper down in front of James and Lily.

They were used to Sirius' dramatics. After all, they'd been friends for almost twenty years and he'd lived with them at Potter Manor for nearly ten of those years, to be a layer of protection in case their other security measures failed (and because their huge house needed more life and it was depressing to think of Sirius and Remus alone in their respective flats).

Remus had been with them at the manor too, but he had moved out a few months previously, back to his childhood home with Hestia, where the pair were making Lupin Cottage habitable and beautiful once more.

They expected it to be something minor, perhaps another small story where Sirius, out and about, was mistaken for Stubby Boardman, lead singer of The Hobgoblins and decades Sirius' senior.

Instead, they found themselves looking at a blurry picture, grainy and in black and white but unmistakeable to them all – Peter Pettigrew.

Both James and Lily gaped for a few minutes as they took in the older, more worn face of their betrayer.

"He's got some nerve returning here," Sirius ranted, "how can he come back knowing what he did?"

James put a restraining hand on his best friend's arm, "if he's here then it'll be easier for the Aurors to catch him."

"If he's here," Lily said fiercely, "then it means something is going to happen. He wouldn't come back without being sure he had protection, the coward."  
Her tone was bitter. James, Sirius and Remus had been Peter's best friends, but they'd also teased him too. Lily had been the one to tell them off when they went a bit too far and she had always been kind and friendly to him. His betrayal of them all had hurt her almost as much as it had her husband, Sirius and Remus.

"You don't think …" James trailed off as he realised how likely Lily's insinuation was.

"It has been almost nine years," Sirius said hoarsely, "more than enough time for him to get a body, or at least plan to – whatever else we think of him Voldemort was never unintelligent or without a hell of a lot of magical power."

They looked at each other, all quiet as their minds raced through the possibilities of what might happen now. They had always expected Voldemort to return but it was still a shock to have the possibility thrust upon them so suddenly. The Order would need to meet, of course, but the question of whether it should be immediately or once everyone had had a chance to digest the information was something to think on.

It was all decided when Kingsley's Patronus appeared in front of them with words they all dreaded.

"There has been an Azkaban breakout."

There would be no waiting period for the meeting.

...

"You've lost your mind," shouted James over the eruption of protests that had greeted Dumbledore's suggestion that they think of the prophecy and Harry's role in it, "my nine year old son is not getting involved in killing Voldemort."

"I am not suggesting anything like that Mr Potter," Dumbledore insisted, avoiding Lily's icy glare, "but in some cases prophecies can be -"

"No," Lily cut in, "I'll admit that Divination has its occasional uses, but it isn't at all reliable and everyone knows that prophecies are rarely straight forward."

"It does state that your son will have the power to vanquish Voldemort," Dumbledore insisted.

"We've put a lot of thought into it over the years," James said as his wife glared at their old headmaster, and we're not convinced its relevant."

" _Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies_. Well that could be Harry or Neville, as we worked out when it was made."

" _The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal_. In choosing to go after Harry, a baby, Voldemort showed how scared he was and that he saw Harry as a threat, thus marking him to the world as his equal – after all, it didn't say the mark had to be something people could see."

" _He will have power the Dark Lord knows not_. Well, if we're assuming its love then that could be covered by our love for Harry and desire to protect him being the reason we fought and killed Voldemort that night."

" _Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives._ Voldemort is dead now, even if he might rise again, while Harry lives. So that part is fulfilled."

"You see Dumbledore," James explained, "we think that the prophecy has already been fulfilled, when Voldemort died in 1981. It only said the Dark Lord would be vanquished, not that the death would be permanent or that he wouldn't rise again. If we're right then that prophecy is done now, irrelevant to our handling of any future resurrection of Voldemort."  
"Besides," Lily pointed out, "it says that the one with the power approaches, but time is subjective, especially in prophecies. Considering the span of human history it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that to the fates something happening a century or two in the future is approaching. There have been numerous dark lords and we don't have solid evidence to suggest that the one referred to actually is Voldemort."

Sirius broke into raucous applause and despite the fact that the whole situation was far from funny, James smiled.

Sirius was good at breaking the tension in a room and his over enthusiastic response lightened the mood and allowed James, Lily and Dumbledore to get their bearings once more.

"Your observations are sound," Dumbledore admitted, looking more tired than usual, "I have perhaps focused too much on the prophecy and would of course wish to avoid having young Harry at all involved with such a dangerous confrontation."

His words seemed to pacify the Potters and their expressions relaxed slightly, though they were still worried.

Lily turned to the Longbottoms, "it may be best for you to come and stay at the manor again, just until Voldemort has been dealt with. No matter our thoughts on the prophecy he likely believes it is still in full force, which means Harry, and Neville to a lesser extent, are in danger. They should stay under the Fidelius Charm at the manor for now."

"It's the Easter weekend now," Sirius added, "so 'Dromeda, Ted and Tonks are all at home. They could keep an eye on Harry and Neville if we all have to leave."

He left unspoken the likelihood of a big confrontation that would need all of them there to ensure that Voldemort was put down, hopefully for good but, if other Horcruxes still existed, then for long enough to find and neutralise those.

Dumbledore nodded decisively, "be on your guard and be ready to act at a moment's notice. I will speak to the Minister about having the Aurors ready to mobilise when the time comes. If you know of any trustworthy allies then speak to them and if you hear any rumours or information of importance then please get in contact immeadiately."  
He looked around at the inner circle of the Order, all determined and angry and ready, "good luck to you all."

* * *

 _16th April 1990 – Little Hangleton Graveyard_

It had taken only three days for everything to come to a head.

From the moment Peter Pettigrew had been sighted and the most dangerous Death Eaters had escaped Azkaban there had been little rest for any of the Order. There had been meetings and planning and training and research to work out the most likely locations that Voldemort might unite his forces. Spells were placed on multiple locations to give notice to Dumbledore when any dark magic was used.

They were all on tenterhooks, just waiting for the call to battle to go out.

In the end it was the alarm placed at the graveyard at Little Hangleton that went off, the dark magic used in Voldemort's regenerative potion in order to make a new body setting off the spells Dumbledore had set there.

They gathered together quickly, all nervous but determined to end Voldemort for good that night if it was possible to do so.

They apparated as one just as Voldemort appeared in front of his Death Eaters in his new body.

...

Voldemort had been terrifying when they last saw him in person, exceptionally pale with dark eyes that flashed red occasionally and a terrible, cruel expression on his face. But he had looked human, the handsome features he had always possessed sharpened but not gone and a head full of hair that remained dark despite his age.

Now, though, he looked inhuman. His skin had lost any of the little colour it once had – it was now chalky white and almost translucent. His eyes were permanently red, his hair gone and his nose like a snake's (possibly due to his use of Nagini's venom in his regenerative potion). His body looked skeletal and frail but the hardness in his eyes and the aura surrounding him – sickly, dark and powerful – showed that he retained his formidable magical abilities despite almost nine years without a body and numerous dark rituals.

His followers were behind him. Not too many – they had managed to take him by surprise – but his loyal inner circle (what was left of them) were present.

Voldemort seemed unafraid of the Order members and Aurors facing him. He was known to have duelled over half a dozen strong witches and wizards at once a number of times so he had reason not to fear.

His best lieutenants – Bellatrix, Dolohov and Lucius Malfoy – were impressive fighters too. It wouldn't be easy to battle them.

Voldemort scoffed at them all, "how do you expect to win this battle. I am Lord Voldemort and I have gone further than anyone before me in the pursuit of immortality. You killed me, yet here I stand before you, ready to take my victory."

"You mean your Horcruxes," shouted James, "the locket, diadem, cup, ring and diary. Gone, all destroyed."

He laughed at the look on Voldemort's face. His laughter was harsh and dark and very unlike James, but Voldemort stirred a hatred in him that he felt with no one else. The dark wizard couldn't hide his momentary panic, showing his shock for a moment until his mask was back in place.

It seemed like they had been right. Voldemort's reaction showed that there were no Horcruxes left, only Voldemort in his new, mortal body.

"You lie," the dark lord hissed, "there is no way …"

"The locket was in a cave, the diadem in the hidden 'Come and Go Room' at Hogwarts," Lily listed coldly and calmly, "the cup was in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts, the ring buried at the Gaunt shack and the diary in Lucius Malfoy's home."

Dumbledore had let James and Lily address Voldemort. They deserved the chance to face him after his attempts to murder them and their son.

Now, though, the only one Voldemort ever feared stepped forward.

"I wish it could have been different Tom, I truly do."

Then he lifted his wand, Voldemort raised his and the battle began.

There was no escaping the graveyard. The Order had placed anti-apparition barriers up as soon as they had arrived. With Voldemort aware of the loss of his Horcruxes, they knew that he would wish to retreat in order to make new ones (regardless of how splitting his soul even further might affect him) and they couldn't allow him to disappear and not only remain a threat, but also create further Horcruxes they would have to find and destroy.

Voldemort could of course lift the anti-apparition barrier, but he would need concentration and time that their battle would not afford him,

Both sides knew the importance of victory. The Order knew if they lost then Voldemort would be in the wind and able to make further Horcruxes and build up his forces. Voldemort knew that if he died then he would not be able to cheat death again. It was vital that he triumph so that he could create at least one other Horcrux to anchor him to life if his body should be killed again.

Winning was necessary for them all. Desperation often bred exceptionally bloody fights and every participant was fierce and ready for combat. It wouldn't be an easy, short or clean fight. Not at all.

...

The graveyard battle was the most dangerous fight Lily and James had been in since Voldemort came to Godric's Hollow years previously. In a way it was worse than that. It was true that then they were the entire focus of Voldemort's spells, rather than now when the dark wizard had the Order and Aurors to contend with, but in their current situation the Potters had to focus on their surroundings just like Voldemort – in the midst of such a melee it would be easy to be hit by stray spell-fire, perhaps even from their own allies.

The Order and Aurors adopted a pair policy, with one on the offensive while the other made sure that the two of them were defended. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were more offensive, throwing out powerful dark spells and Unforgiveables and only dodging or blocking when they absolutely had to. Their constant spell use tired most of them a little and allowed the Order to get important hits against them.

Voldemort, unfortunately, seemed immune to such fatigue. His body was a magical construct and the dark rituals he had done ensured it took far longer for his magical core to be exhausted.

The Order and Aurors had the edge with preparation. They might not have fought in such a battle for years but they had all been free to practice duelling and train. Most of the Death Eaters had been in Azkaban and a few days, even with nutrient potions and spells, wasn't enough to get them back to full health. They were still formidable, though, and Voldemort did not seem at all affected by nine years without a body.

The large skirmish, after a little while, broke up into smaller fights as personal grudges drew certain opponents together.

James and Lily went after Peter, blocking his attempts to flee in his rat form (the coward) with a clever little spell Lily had learnt from one of the old tomes in Potter Manor's library.

Sirius faced his insane cousin Bellatrix in a mad duel of spells that had every close calls for both of them. The identical looks of crazed determination on both their faces reminded everyone that they were family and ensured no one stepped between their fast-moving duel.

Remus and Kingsley took on Lucius Malfoy. Both had reason to hate the man – his support of anti-werewolf laws and his liberal use of bribery and threats at the Ministry – and were keen to see him pay for his sins.

Frank, Alice, Hestia and Emmeline all circled Dolohov, whose manic grin showed no feat and whose quick wand continued to throw out his speciality cutting curse with reckless abandon.

The rest of the two forces clashed together and both groups used lethal force. It wasn't something the Order or Aurors were keen on but desperate times called for special measures and the Death Eaters present were the worst of them, all with life sentences or Dementor's Kisses waiting for them.

In the centre of it all were Dumbledore and Voldemort, whose duel would later become legend in the same way Dumbledore's with Grindelwald's had. They both aimed to be deadly, but there was something beautiful about their fight.

It was as if their moves had all been perfectly choreographed and they both casually used spells that most witches and wizards never came close to mastering.

It was a visual delight. Or it would have been in any other setting. No one witnessed more than snatches of it now, focused as they were on their own difficulties.

The first inroad for the Order came when Dolohov was brought down by cleverly orchestrated simultaneous spell-fire by those struggling against him.

Voldemort didn't appear to notice or care, but some of his less able Death Eaters began to look even more nervous. Crabbe and Goyle were already lying motionless on the ground but no one had been particularly surprised by that – loyal they were but not nearly as capable as most of the other combatants present. Dolohov, though, had been one of the best and some morale left the Death Eaters when he fell.

However, they remained, because Lord Voldemort did not treat cowards who retreated with any sort of sympathy or mercy – they all knew it was fight or die. And they fought harder, because they knew the only way they were getting out alive was if their side won.

The battle continued. The Order members tried not to think about the dead Aurors that lay on the ground – there weren't many and every one mattered to them but any distraction could cost them their lives and that would be a poor way to repay their sacrifice.

They couldn't help but react, though, when there was a familiar scream.

Emmeline lay on the ground, blood everywhere and her face far too pale to be healthy. Kingsley's momentary panic meant he only half-dodged the flames one of the Death Eaters threw at him, scorching his arm badly. He gave one of their pre-prepared Portkeys (destination: St Mungo's) to Emmeline but refused to go himself despite his worry for his wife.

She wasn't dead. That was what they all reminded themselves of. They had to keep fighting.

And they did.

Everyone was tired after an hour. They took breaks every now and then, watching each other's backs so that they could get a breather. But it was minutes they had to rest, not the hours they truly needed.

The groups fighting broke up every now and then but they always came back together eventually. Dumbledore and Voldemort had barely stopped and they didn't seem to be flagging like the rest. Their level of warfare was so far elevated from the rest of them that no one ever tried to interfere.

Lucius Malfoy had been knocked unconscious and taken to the Ministry by two of the Aurors. Other Death Eaters were dead, as well as two more Aurors. Hestia's legs had been broken by a dark curse that required immediate medical assistance and Kingsley was bleeding out enough that he too had to get to St Mungo's before his blood loss caused irreparable damage. Frank was unconscious and Alice had left the graveyard with both him and a bound Death Eater.

The area was mostly clear. Voldemort and Dumbledore continued to battle against each other, neither managing to hold the upper hand for long enough to do any permanent damage.

Sirius and Bellatrix kept on too, while Lily, James and Remus tried to dispatch the other two Death Eaters remaining.

There was no one else left. The remainder of both forces were either dead, injured or transporting others to St Mungo's or the Ministry.

They could feel the end coming. None of them would be able to hold out much longer and eventually someone would fall.

Twenty more minutes passed. Two Death Eaters fell. The two pairs still fighting barely noticed.

Then Sirius got off a lucky shot. In later years he would say that it was skill, but while he was a talented wizard he and Bellatrix were fairly evenly matched. He was healthier, hadn't spent years in Azkaban, but she used darker spells than he did and being older she had more magical experience. It wasn't ever going to come down to skill with the two of them.

In the end it was probably her arrogance that got her killed. She got cocky and Sirius got lucky and the look of surprise was forever etched onto her face when she fell to the floor.

The death of his most loyal was something Voldemort did notice.

The force of his rage at Bellatrix's death erupted out in a shockwave that knocked all of them, even Dumbledore, to the ground.

The dark lord looked around properly for the first time since his duel with Dumbledore had begun. He noticed the nearly empty graveyard and the fact that he was the only one left, every one of his Death Eaters gone.

He did not seem to care. He just began firing spells off with a vehemence that showed just how angry he was. It was five on one but Voldemort wasn't really tired and Dumbledore, despite his skills, was feeling the strain of such a long duel with a powerful opponent.

James, Lily, Sirius and Remus stayed out of it for a little while. They needed to recoup their strength and in all honesty the ferociousness of the duel between the two great wizards was far above their levels. If they had been five decades older then perhaps it would have been different, but they were still all barely thirty years old and even their bright, intelligent minds didn't know exactly what some of the spells being used were.

It all changed when Voldemort and Dumbledore's Fiendfyre spells clashed together, throwing both of them to opposite ends of the graveyard.

Voldemort began to stir. Dumbledore didn't.

Lily ran over and almost sobbed in relief when she could still feel a pulse. But Dumbledore was unconscious and they knew he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. He was out of the battle and it was up to the four of them.

In some cases they would have thought it cowardly to hit an opponent while they were down.

This was war, though, and Voldemort was someone who could not be allowed to continue wreaking havoc on the world.

Attacking when he was still recovering was probably the best chance they were going to get. With four of them they might eventually have managed to get him with Avada Kedavra but the chances were that he would kill or seriously injure at least one of them before they managed to stop him.

None of them were comfortable with the Killing Curse. They had all used it but never liked it. It took a lot of magical energy and hate too. Voldemort was the only one they knew of who was able to keep up a fairly steady stream of the spell. Even Bellatrix, who was full of hate and dark power, could only use the Killing Curse half a dozen times in a half hour period.

They couldn't waste time debating. James started moving first and the other three followed.

Voldemort was stood when they reached him, a little shaky but still intimidating.

He laughed, high and cold and cruel, when he saw Dumbledore's still body.

They didn't give him a chance to laugh at them.

Each one of them summoned their hate. For all the people Voldemort had personally killed and those who had died on his orders, for the friends they had lost, for the injuries caused and the darkness that had plagued the wizarding world for years because of the dark wizard in front of them.

They all called out 'Avada Kedavra' simultaneously, before Voldemort had the chance to avoid their spells.

All four spells hit their mark and they would never know whose had got their first and which one had dealt the killing blow. They liked it that way because then they could share the burden (and taking a life was a burden, even when that life belonged to an evil like Voldemort).

Voldemort fell to the ground, the empty shell of a wizard who had finally lost the battle for immortality that had driven him nearly his whole life.

And his death signalled the end of the war. It was all over. They had won.

* * *

 _1st September 1991 – Platform 9 3/4, Kings Cross Station, London_

The morning of September 1st was cool but bright and Kings Cross Station was packed with commuters.

In amongst the throng, two excited boys hurried towards Platforms 9 and 10. One had messy black hair just like his father and the bright green eyes that were his physical inheritance from his mother. The other boy was a little more worried looking, though he still smiled – his nervous expression was just like his father's while his grins were exactly the same as his mother's. They pushed trolleys piled with a huge trunk, small bag and an owl each.

"Harry, Neville, snow down," came a voice behind them as two sets of parents (one swinging a small red-haired giggling girl about three years old between them) came up behind them.

"Don't run off," Lily scolded her son and pseudo nephew, "you know how busy it gets in here."

The boys gave each other identical shrugs, convinced that they would have been fine alone but knowing well enough to pick their battles.

"Sorry mum," "sorry Aunt Lily," they chorused.

Lily's stern expression softened and she stepped back to grasp Rose's hand again as Frank and Alice chivvied the boys along to the wall that would take them through to Platform 9 3/4.

They went through easily enough, emerging into a crowd of children saying goodbye to their families.

They soon spotted another familiar group and both boys ran over to greet Sirius, Remus, Kingsley and Tonks.

"You're later than you planned," Sirius observed, and looked at Lily, "how did your obsession with punctuality allow such a travesty?"

Lily glared and Neville looked sheepish as his father explained that it had taken while to find a few of his son's school things – Neville's memory for certain things was about as good as his mother's, and Alice had once forgotten her own birthday.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly and Frank ruffled his son's hair affectionately (Neville and Alice's forgetfulness was a family joke, but never in a cruel way) while Lily asked about their other friends.

"They had to get to work," Remus said, explaining the absence of Hestia, Emmeline, Andromeda and Ted, "but they said good luck and to be sure to write to them."

"I'm sure Hestia will have something exciting to write to you about soon enough," Sirius told the boys with a roguish twinkle in his eyes, looking at Remus, who turned red.

Lily and Alice squealed with enthusiasm while Harry and Neville just looked confused.

"You'll find out soon enough," Sirius promised.

...

"Now just remember," James said to Harry as Alice fussed over Neville and Frank smiled indulgently at his wife, "don't mess with Peeves, don't get involved in duels until you know a few spells …"

He paused there at Lily's glare, "… ok don't duel at all unless it's at Duelling Club. Hagrid is expecting you and Neville for tea on Friday and make sure you work hard but have fun too."

Lily attempted to flatten her son's hair, a futile action that never worked but that she attempted every now and then anyway.

"You've got Neville, and Ron Weasley in your year too. Don't let Fred and George Weasley talk you into anything too ridiculous and make sure to behave, especially in Professor McGonagall's class."  
Rose, previously absorbed in getting Tonks to change her hair colour for the little girl's amusement, interrupted her mother's words to throw her arms around her brother's legs as she babbled her goodbyes and told him how much she'd miss him until she got distracted by another family's pet and ran off, dragging Tonks with her, to exclaim over the 'doggy'.

Harry suddenly felt very nervous. He was excited of course, but he wasn't sure he was ready to be apart from his family, even if there were holidays and weekends when students were allowed to go home. His parents sensed his worry and both of them crouched down next to him.

"You're going to be fine Harry," his father told him, "you'll have the time of your life, maybe even meet your future wife," he said with a wink to Lily.

His mother pressed a kiss to his head and though she was a little teary she smiled brightly, "it's going to be fantastic Harry, I'm sure of it."

And knowing the supportive, loving family he had, the friends he'd got already and the ones he would hopefully make, the amazing castle he'd waited years to see for himself and the magical world his parents had helped make safe, Harry knew his mother was right.

It would be a fantastic adventure and he couldn't wait to experience it.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.**


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